Hotaru Goes to Destiny Island
by Saturn Angels
Summary: Sailor Moon/Kingdom Hearts. After an accident Hotaru loses Haruka and Michiru, Setsuna then tells her that she's been chosen to save different worlds. If she completes her task she'll get the chance to bring Haruka and Michiru back, the only hard part is
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: Don't own…Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters that are in it. In this fanfic…I probably won't be using and "animal" Disney characters. If I do use Disney characters it'll probably be just… Ariel, Cinderella, Snow White, Prince Charming #1, Prince Charming #2, Jasmine, Aladdin, the PEOPLE…or mermaid… Disney characters basically. I'll of course be throwing in a bunch of Final Fantasy characters…Aerith, 'Leon', etc. I don't own Sailor Moon either. So go on and read chapter one! ^_^. This is, I think, the first Kingdom Hearts/Sailor Moon crossover ever posted…so if more suddenly start appearing…I'll be jealous, lol ^_^, and if there are some already then I wanna read 'em…as long as their not Usagi-centered for God's sake! ^_^

Ages:

Hotaru: 13  
Sora: 14  
Riku: 15  
Selphie: 13  
Wakka: 15  
Tidus: 13  
Leon: 25  
Yuffie: 16  
Cid: 42  
Cloud: 22  
Kairi: 14

**Hotaru Goes to Destiny Islands  
Chapter One  
By:  
** Vale _(Saturn Angels)_

The raven-haired girl sat silently in deep thought on an old wooden park bench that was weather stained with rain and harsh sunlight. She felt numb almost, the day before it had rained but she felt that the rain would suit this day much more then yesterday. Her father and her mother…her Haruka-papa…and Michiru-mama… she shut her eyes tightly not wanting to dwell on the memory for fear of breaking out into sobs again. The doctor had called her home a few hours ago saying that her guardians had been in an accident. He had said _guardians_…they were more like parents then anyone had ever been. He told her that they had been in a severe accident and were rushed to the emergency room. Hotaru had immediately alerted the other senshi and asked Usagi to drive her as quickly as possible to the hospital they were staying at and had waited in the damn waiting room that smelled thickly of medicines, cigarettes, and perfume. The other senshi, including Setsuna, were at the hospital as well, probably still were. She couldn't stand it any longer though… she couldn't cope with the fact that after so many cycles of rebirth…Haruka and Michiru might not come back to her.

So here she was.

Sitting on an old wooden chair trying to make herself believe that it was all just a nightmare. But the pain was all too real to just be some dream. She missed them already and they weren't even in their grave yet. She hated to think of what she would do at their funeral…

With a loud cry she buried her head in her hands, her messy hair clinging around her face creating a sort of curtain as she sat hunched over,_They aren't going to die…_ she thought sullenly and as if there was another person inside her head she answered herself

_Then why do you have to remind yourself?_

She shuddered she could see it now… she would be clinging onto her mama's closed casket sobbing and creating a scene…then later her birth father would send some policemen to check on her later that day at her house to make sure she hadn't killed herself. The only one of her adoptive parents that was, and always would be living was her Setsuna-mama. Setsuna…was the guardian of time, Sailor Pluto. She must have known about what would happen. _But why didn't she tell us??_ Hotaru felt completely lost…she felt as if the bottom of her life had just suddenly fallen out; she had no center anymore. Her world was turned upside down and she felt as if the contents were spilling out somehow. She felt empty.

It was then that her communicator, which Haruka had rightfully dubbed -the watch thingy, began beeping. She sniffled and answered trying to make her eyes look less red, though she really couldn't tell the extent of which they looked so she just had to settle by straightening her hair a bit. Once she opened her communicator; so to speak, Usagi's face appeared on the miniscule screen.

"Hotaru! You have to get over here! The doctor is just bringing us some news on Haruka and Michiru's current situation." Hotaru nodded slightly, she was pretty sure she knew what the doctor was going to say, though she just nodded and said she was on her way. She stood up and grabbed her bag figuring she should take it with her just in case she had to stay there the night. Her eyes began watering again and she felt like just sitting down in a really, really deep hole and curling up into a ball and staying there for eternity. She didn't want Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama to die. What would the world do without Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune? Why was this happening to them? Why now?

Oh yeah. That's right. The Sailor Senshi weren't _allowed_ to have peace and quiet. Nope. Something always had to make either: one or all of their lives living hells.

She was walking towards the hospital now…down the gray cement path that led to her destination. She really felt that there was much more that Setsuna wasn't telling her. When she got to the hospital she would be sure to confront Setsuna-mama about her feelings. 

It was about a minute later when she reached the hospital, she walked in passing through the big silver gates that reflected the sunlight, like a mirror of some sort, passed the small gardens which were on each side of the gravel path that led to the hospital's front door. Some little children were playing in the garden on her left side chasing butterflies while their mother sat on one of the stone tables sobbing with her head resting on her arms on the tabletop. Hotaru gave an understanding glance at the mother, who didn't really seem to notice as she kept weeping.

Hotaru gave a sharp sigh as she walked through the electronic double doors which slid open when she was two feet in front of them. She walked in and prepared herself for the worst. She walked to the room where she was sure still sat all seven senshi. Chibiusa had returned for the future just to comfort everyone, she had found out about Michiru and Haruka because one day she woke up and Haruka and Michiru were no longer in the palace.

Which, everyone knew, meant that they weren't going to live.

Though Setsuna looked strangely calm about all of it…like it was part of her huge master plan or something. She opened the door to the lobby and immediately the senshi turned to look at her.

"Hotaru…I'm glad you came," Usagi said with a sad, comforting smile.

"The doctor said he'd be back in a few seconds with Haruka and Michiru's report…" Ami said slowly. 

All Hotaru could do was nod and sit down between Setsuna and Chibiusa. 

Chibiusa put a hand on Hotaru's shoulder trying to comfort her.

Setsuna sat still looking a bit impatient as the doctor took his sweet time in walking towards the group again. 

The doctor approached them holding a notepad and a pen, which he had taken from one of the shirt pockets in his white laboratory coat, "I have bad news for you all…" he said slowly as if he had to choose his words carefully. "According to our reports and statistics on both Ms. Kaiou, and Ms. Tenou… they won't make it through the night. They probably only have…less than an hour to live. We're doing all we can to save them, but nothing seems to be working." He paused to let them take in all he was saying.

"Can we visit them?" Rei asked as her eyes began glistening with held back tears.

The doctor nodded, "Of course. Take all the time you need…but if they're resting, I ask you not to disturb them…"

Everyone nodded and the doctor called a nurse over to show all of them to Michiru and Haruka's hospital room.

They walked in silence, their footsteps echoing eerily through the empty hallway. The nurse turned then held open a door and let the senshi enter the room, "I'll be back in a few minutes to give them their injections. At that time I'll ask you all to leave." 

Makoto, Usagi, and Minako stood by Haruka's bed. Chibiusa and Hotaru stood in-between them both. And Ami, Setsuna, and Rei stood by Michiru's bed. Michiru's eyes parted slightly and she groaned a bit. Hotaru rushed to her mother's side and looked worriedly over her.

"Michi-mama…" she whispered quietly fearing that if she spoke too loud, her fragile mother would die somehow. "Michi-mama…how are you feeling…?"

Michiru blinked slightly, "Hotaru? Is that you…?" she asked sounding confused, "Where…?" she looked around a bit, "I can't see very well…what's wrong with me? My head hurts…"

Hotaru grasped Michiru's hand, "Don't worry Michi-mama…you'll be fine. You're in the hospital right now…"

Michiru's eyes widened slightly as she seemed to recall everything that had happened, "Where's Haruka?!" she tried to sit up, but because at least three of her ribs were snapped she lay back down in pain.

"Haruka-san is in the bed next to you…" Ami said quietly.

Michiru bit her bottom lip as her breathing became labored, "What's wrong with me?"

"…You're internally bleeding…and you've punctured some of your organs…" Rei said softly as she held onto Michiru's other hand.

Michiru closed her eyes and let out a sigh, "How long?"

"Not very long…" Setsuna said walking to Michiru's bedside.

Michiru nodded slightly, "And Haruka?"

"Not much longer." Setsuna answered looking grim.

Michiru nodded again then looked towards Hotaru then back at Setsuna, "Is the rebirth cycle ending for us? Or will be reborn to protect our Usagi-hime?"

Setsuna looked a bit taken aback by the question but put her head down and shook her head uncertainly, then looked up, "It depends…"

Michiru, strangely enough, nodded and seemed to understand.

It was then that all of them noticed that there was a long beeping sound. Just one long note and they looked over to the heart monitor to see the green squiggly line straighten into one long line that went from one side of the screen to the other.

Hotaru let out a strangled cry as she knelt by Michiru's bed, laying her head on the edge of the bed, and; still holding Michiru's hand, began weeping.

By this time Usagi, Ami, Hotaru, Chibiusa, and Minako were crying softly.

"Hey, Haruka is beginning to wake up!" Makoto said and the ones who were by Michiru's bed reluctantly left it and walked over to Haruka.

"Hotaru-chan!" Haruka said with a small smile, "Glad you could come to my death."

Hotaru let out a small breath of exasperation, "Haruka-papa, you shouldn't say things like that…!"

Haruka waved her hand a bit, "Yeah, yeah…" she suddenly became very serious, "…I know when it's my time, Hotaru-chan," she said with a small reassuring smile, "Hey…but maybe I'll get to make it to heaven this time!" she held her hand up to her mouth as she suddenly began coughing, the senshi were concerned at the sight of the blood that dripped from her fingertips, "Where's Michi?" she asked looking at the group around her.

Everyone put their heads down and Haruka looked at Hotaru, "What happened to Michiru!?" she yelled becoming agitated and fearful of the answer. "Where is she!?"

Hotaru frowned, "M-Michi-mama is gone. She died scant seconds before you woke up…"

It was at that time that everyone turned to look at Michiru's bed, where she lie completely still and unmoving; her creamy skin looking as pale as death.

Haruka drew in a deep breath as she too saw the sight, "Michiru!" she cried but there was no response. "Why haven't the doctors noticed yet!? Where are they!!!"

"They'll be here any moment…Haruka you should calm yourself…" Setsuna said as she placed a hand on Haruka's forehead.

Haruka seemed to obey Setsuna's order as she exhaled slowly and reached her hand as far as she could so she could intertwine her fingers with those of her love, "Ja ne minna…see you again sometime…" she mumbled before her heart monitor was reduced to that one tone signifying that both senshi had passed now.

Hotaru drew a deep, shaky breath and followed the other senshi out of the room. Once they were outside once more everyone gave her either a hug or some other form of trying to comfort her. Setsuna drove Hotaru back to their Outer's mansion, they drove in silence and when they drove up the driveway they stayed in the car remaining silent. The house seemed dark and empty without Haruka and Michiru…it was as if the house itself knew that two of its owners were not returning. Hotaru would be living alone now…

And that scared the hell out of her.

"I know what you're thinking Hotaru…" Setsuna began quietly then spoke normally, "You're thinking that I knew this was going to happen…and you're angry with me for not forewarning you."

Hotaru glanced at Setsuna.

"And you're right. I wasn't sure about it…but…I had the idea. It was…the only way they could get you to help."

"They?" Hotaru asked confused.

"It's in another world. In fact there are many worlds. Each star…is a different world. Scientists…believe that stars _blow up_ sooner or later, though…that happens when a world is destroyed. Astronomers are noting that…many stars are "blowing up" at this time. They're blinking out one by one. A few days ago someone visited me from a different world…he didn't give me his name, but Hotaru…you've been chosen to save different worlds from destruction."

Hotaru furrowed her eyebrows, in confusion trying to comprehend what all of this meant.

"If you don't do this Hotaru, our own world…will eventually vanish. Do you accept?"

Without even a second thought Hotaru nodded, "Mission…accepted."

Setsuna looked relieved and she hugged her adoptive daughter, "I'm so proud of you Hotaru. Haruka and Michiru would be proud too…"

Hotaru sniffled slightly, even with this new mission coming up…it still hurt extremely to even think of her parents.

Setsuna pulled away from Hotaru, "Get your stuff ready in your subspace pocket. You leave tonight."

~*~*~End Chapter One~*~*~

Vale: Yeah…I know, their deaths were a bit rushed but I'm getting a headache ^^; I may revise this a bit later on, but I'm not going to right now so *sticks tongue out* bweh!

Vale: Please review and I'll tell the Easter Bunny to visit you on Christmas so you two can…erm…push Santa off the roof or something! ^^; Please, please review! I have confidence in this fic and if hardly any people review my confidence will be shattered and I won't update any of my fics! And I'll er…erase all of the other's new chapters for their stories so you won't get ANY updates from this penname! If you flame I will hunt you down with a shotgun and …I'll wear a bulletproof vest! Yeah!

Arnvid: …Vale, you really are retarded aren't you? Scare 98% of our readers away why don't you!

Vale: …hmph. Oh yeah! Do you guys want me to hook her up with Riku, or Sora...or someone else?? VOTE PWEASE! (I'm probably gonna do Riku/Hotaru since I LOVE RIKU!!!!!!!! He's mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) *runs off with a little Riku plushie* 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Kingdom Hearts

I read Usagi-centered fics every once in a while. Some are good, some are not. And, I don't see anything wrong with them…there are just **_TOO MANY_**, especially the ones which have Mamoru treating Usagi badly (some even have him _kill_ her) then she gets reborn in another anime and gets another guy even when NAOKO TAKEUCHI makes it CLEAR that they're head over heels in love and not even the worst of trials can tear them apart.

And also I'd like to point out to the big blank reviewer, …only the first season and second seasons are focused on Usagi. The third season focuses a bit more on Chibiusa, the fourth is…Chibiusa again and the fifth is mainly…everyone and a lesson on what true friendship is, etc. So don't you **dare** speak as if you know Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon better than I do. Don't you ever, **ever** think you know more then me in the category of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon because I've watched the show since I was 6 years old (not exaggerating) I know the dubbed AND the Japanese version like the back of my hand, and believe me…I know the back of my hand pretty damn well.

Vale: Now onto happier categories! n_n thanks to all who reviewed!!! I guess Hotaru/Riku won the polls… ^^ yay! 

Arnvid: you're forgetting something Vale.

Vale: *mumble mumble* but I'll give you guys another chapter thing to vote. So make your votes because the polls close once I post chapter 3! ^_~ now go read my fic *cry* I love reviews…they're such a wonderful inspiration!

Ages:

Hotaru: 13  
Sora: 14  
Riku: 15  
Selphie: 13  
Wakka: 15  
Tidus: 13  
Leon: 25  
Yuffie: 16  
Cid: 42  
Cloud: 22  
Kairi: 14

**Hotaru Goes to Destiny Islands  
Chapter Two  
By:  
** Vale _(Saturn Angels)_

~*Last Time*~

Setsuna looked relieved and she hugged her adoptive daughter, "I'm so proud of you Hotaru. Haruka and Michiru would be proud too…"

Hotaru sniffled slightly, even with this new mission coming up…it still hurt extremely to even think of her parents.

Setsuna pulled away from Hotaru, "Get your stuff ready in your subspace pocket. You leave tonight."

~*This Time*~

"T-Tonight!" Hotaru asked stunned, as she looked at the older senshi confused, she hadn't really expected that she would have to leave so soon, "I haven't even been to Haruka and Michiru's funeral yet!"

"If you fulfill the quest there won't be a funeral to go to. Now, hurry we have only an hour or so before the sunsets, you best get your things ready now." Setsuna said solemnly as she opened the car door and climbed out leaving Hotaru behind.

Hotaru summoned her strength and opened the car door excepting the fact that she wasn't going to be home for a while, but if everything went as planned then she would be back home with her Haruka-papa and Michiru-mama. And with those thoughts she unlocked the front door and headed upstairs into her room wondering what she would need to take. The sub-space pocket had no limit, but if she took too many things it would expend some of her energy, "Will I need any food, Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked as she continued up the stairs taking each step two at a time.

There was a short silence before Setsuna's voice could be heard clearly, "I highly doubt it Hotaru-chan. But you may want to take along some snacks that won't spoil. You never know what may happen." Her voice echoed slightly meaning she was in the kitchen, voices always echoed from the kitchen.

Hotaru made it to her room, if worse came to worse she figured she would need most of the stuff there. She didn't know where she was going or what the climate would be like, so she emptied out her drawers into her subspace pocket then grabbed her favorite black cardigan from her closet. Then she grabbed her pendant that was supposed to bring good luck. It was a simple gold chain with a gold ring as its only adornment, but around the golden ring were tiny amethysts shaped like the insignia of Saturn. Michiru had bought it for her around Christmas time. She whimpered quietly and bit her lip to keep her tears back; than mentally slapped herself for her weakness.

She grabbed sandals, tennis shoes, and eventually, after some consideration, snow boots. She was wearing black boots fashioned much like her senshi boots. That reminded her, she grabbed her henshin wand and threw it into her _suitcase_, her communicator/wrist watch was already on so she took one last look around the room then decided what else she would take. She grabbed a book about Einstein, a dictionary, a book full of quotes, and her CD player along with all of her CDs.

She left her room and turned off the many lamps that were in there deciding she should save power while she was gone. She made her way down the stairs and headed into the kitchen. Setsuna was seated at the wooden table holding a steaming cup of green tea as she watched Hotaru, her face unreadable as per usual. The sun was setting behind her causing a halo of light to form around her head giving her an unearthly appeal.

Hotaru dug through the pantry looking for things that wouldn't go bad. In the end she grabbed some water bottles, some popcorn, and eventually a few packs, or rather cups of 'Chicken flavor Cup Ramen'. 

"Are you ready Hotaru?" Setsuna asked softly.

The younger girl nodded, "Yes, Setsuna-mama. As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good." Setsuna replied with a brief nod, "Then Hotaru…" she paused slightly and with a flash of white light the two vanished from the mansion's kitchen to reappear in Setsuna's space continuum, "Hotaru, you're sure you have everything?" Setsuna asked as Hotaru began walking to the double doors which presented themselves eerily through the fog.

Hotaru opened the doors and turned to Setsuna, "Don't worry Setsuna. I'm sure I have all I need and more." Then she walked through the doors and they shut behind her with a loud bang that echoed dissonantly through the dense silence.

"Gambatte ne… (Good luck)," Setsuna whispered before turning her back to the door readying herself for the silence of guarding the gates once more.

On the other side of the door Hotaru looked around, she hadn't used the Gates of Time in a while and wasn't quite used to the pressure that was placed onto her once she stepped inside. The gravity was more then on earth, though you would expect it to be less. She made her way forward clumsily then thought of Setsuna's request and her mission. She remembered at last how to get to her destination. She remembered Haruka and Michiru's faces then summoned Setsuna's image and heard an echo in her head of what Setsuna had said about the journey. She only had a moments notice before she looked down and saw a bright white light. It had worked.

The light slowly climbed its way up her body enveloping her with its warm radiance. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. That was the last thing she remembered before she began feeling drowsy and blacked out.

((A/N: I could be evil and end it there…but then it'd be to short so…))

Hotaru was awakened by something _wet_ around her feet. One moment it was there, then the next moment it was gone, and then it would come back again accompanied by a sound that seemed so familiar… but she couldn't place it. It was when she became more of her surroundings that she figured out she was laying in something soft, very hot though. There was something gravelly, probably sand, pressed against her cheek and something was crawling over her hand. She blinked and opened her eyes and looked over at her right hand. On it there was a strange spider of some sort. She gave a shout and began shaking her hand yelling, "Get off! Get off!" when she looked back at her hand, once she had composed herself, she realized that it indeed was gone.

She gave a sigh of relief then looked at her surroundings. The wet stuff turned out to be the ocean and she was sitting in the sand. She just sat there for a few seconds watching the waves roll in and out. It was when she heard laughter that she stood from her position and wiped the sand off of her pants and t-shirt. It was pretty warm and suddenly she felt stupid for having brought snow boots.

She followed the sounds of laughter and shouting until she spotted a group of children, all around her age, sparring. There was a guy holding a strange ball of some sort. It was blue striped white, or maybe white striped blue, and had a strange texture. There was a girl with brown, flipped hair who had nunchakus long enough to jump rope with. There was a boy with blonde slightly spiked hair who had a wooden sword. Then there was a girl with red hair watching the three fight, she was cheering for the girl clapping wildly and whistling saying things like "You've gotta defend the girl's tough image! Gooo Selpphiiee!" Hotaru guessed Selphie was the name of the girl with the flipped hair. But those four weren't the ones who piqued her interest.

Off by themselves on a small island connected to the main island by a wooden bridge were two boys. One looked to be around her age maybe a year older, and the other a year or two older then the first boy. The younger had spiked brown hair that stood out in all directions; the other had a silverish hue of blue hair that was straight. The two were sparring as well, though they seemed more into it then the others had been. Like they were fighting for some sort of prize.

_They seem normal enough…_ she thought as she watched them fight. _But how am I supposed to introduce myself? Hi. I'm Hotaru, I come from another world. It's nice to meet you. I'm here to save all of you from a destruction which is in a form I don't know about yet!_ Yeah. She could imagine the kinds of stares she would get.

She reached to open her wristwatch, so she could communicate with Pluto, only to find it missing. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. It was there when she first woke up… _That spider!_ she began looking for the spider frantically only to be rather rudely disturbed by a shout accompanied by another, and before she knew it all of the people she had seen from afar were now up close and watching her curiously.

Hotaru sweatdropped, she should have planned her speech before she left, "…Hi…" she said unsure of what she should say, "My name's Hotaru. Um…hi."

There was no response for a while as everyone stared at her. Then the girl with the flipped hair spoke, 

"Hiya! I'm Selphie! I'm 13 and well, welcome to Destiny Islands I guess!" she said with a huge grin adorning her features. Hotaru nodded slightly mumbling thanks.

"I'm Sora!" piped up the boy with spiked hair. He was cute enough, though his features held a slight feminine touch to them. His eyes were a sparkling blue, showing complete innocence and compassion, much like Usagi's eyes.

"I'm Kairi!" said the red head as she smiled, "Great! Now we have three girls and four guys! Our population is growing!"

"I'm Wakka, and this is Tidus." The guy carrying the strange ball said while motioning to the blonde boy.

The tall, older, boy stood silent watching her in unspoken fascination for some time just standing with one hand on his waist the other on his chin thoughtfully. Then he held out his hand, "I'm Riku."

"Nice to meet you…" Hotaru said quietly as she shook his hand.

_So far so good!_

"How'd you get here anyway?" Sora asked interrupting the silence that had befallen the group.

Or not…

_Come on, Brain! Think! Think! Faster!_ Then suddenly a light was turned on inside her head and she got an idea, "I was on a ship with my family…the ship capsized, and I ended up here. Somehow…" Alright. So maybe it wasn't such a great, full-proof idea, but the truth was no better.

"Where are your parents?" Tidus asked suddenly.

"Stupid!" Selphie said and kicked him in the shin, "if she's not with 'em that probably means she's lost or they're… y'know…" she said as she grew quiet.

Hotaru lowered her head not completely feigning tears. She got rid of some of her sorrowful emotions and played the part of someone separated from her parents in a shipwreck, two birds with one stone.

"Sorry about your parents," Sora said softly as he rested a hand on Hotaru's shoulder trying to comfort her. Hotaru mused over how anyone could be so naive to think that anyone was worthy of trusting. She had learned many a time over that it was not always so.

"Can we please…drop that subject?" Hotaru asked making sure to keep her head lowered so the only sign of sadness, besides in her voice, was the way her tears reflected the brilliant sunlight.

"A ship…? So…you came from another world?" Hotaru was a bit skeptical but she could've sworn she heard something akin to melancholy in his voice.

"I guess you could put it that way…" Hotaru said after a while.

"Riku! You and your _other worlds_ ever since Kairi came here you've been obsessed with the idea!" Selphie said rolling her bright green eyes heavenward, "now Hotaru, come this way! You're gonna hafta be sworn into the island! Booyaka! This'll be SO much fun!" and with that Selphie grabbed Hotaru's wrist and ran off to a shack that was close enough to be underneath the wooden bridge she had seen earlier." Kairi ran after her giggling and the guys probably went back to their daily business though she never turned around to see for sure. 

~*~*~End Chapter Two~*~*~

Vale: Thank you for all your reviews! So here's my lil' shout-out list! Bold for signed in reviews, italics for anonymous! (leaving your e-mail counts as signed)

**Shin**, **Pisces*Angel**, _Kupo.Kath_, _(Blank)_, **Myst Lady**, **In the Light of the Moon**, **Ankle**, _Tenshi_, _Kirei-chan_, **Tenshi Cat**, **Reiko**

Vale: So n_n thankies! See? I even thanked the flamer. Why? Cuz I don't care about flames. They are openly laughed at, though I did make my point to the big blank coward *clears throat* in the author note underneath the disclaimer in the beginning of the chapter. Toodles! Don't forget to review! ^_~

Arnvid: …R/R. Did you know Vale already has the ending all figured out? And then she's planning on a seq-

Vale: You say another word, you die. Bird boy. 

Arnvid: … *holds up a sign: Read and review, please.* 


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Kingdom Hearts!

Vale: n_n thanks to all who reviewed!!! Well, Hotaru/Riku kicked the arse of Hotaru/Sora… ^^ I would have liked either pairing, but now that it's Hotaru/Riku, you guys want me to do a little Sora/Kairi stuff? 

Arnvid: I…don't have anything to say. Is it…the end of the world?

Vale: WOO! Reviews are awesome, thank you to all! Another shout-out list at the end of this chapter! Big thanks goes out to Myst Lady ML-chan! Heehee ^_^

Ages:

Hotaru: 13  
Sora: 14  
Riku: 15  
Selphie: 13  
Wakka: 15  
Tidus: 13  
Leon: 25  
Yuffie: 16  
Cid: 42  
Cloud: 22  
Kairi: 14

**Hotaru Goes to Destiny Islands  
Chapter Three  
By:  
** Vale _(Saturn Angels)_

~*Last Time*~

"A ship…? So…you came from another world?" Hotaru was a bit skeptical but she could've sworn she heard something akin to melancholy in his voice.

"I guess you could put it that way…" Hotaru said after a while.

"Riku! You and your _other worlds_ ever since Kairi came here you've been obsessed with the idea!" Selphie said rolling her bright green eyes heavenward, "now Hotaru, come this way! You're gonna hafta be sworn into the island! Booyaka! This'll be SO much fun!" and with that Selphie grabbed Hotaru's wrist and ran off to a shack that was close enough to be underneath the wooden bridge she had seen earlier." Kairi ran after her giggling and the guys probably went back to their daily business though she never turned around to see for sure. 

~*This Time*~

Once they reached the shack Selphie pulled Hotaru inside and Kairi shut the door behind them.

"Alright. This is the sacred 'Island…Swearing in Ritual'," Selphie said importantly as she pulled out a wooden chair from seemingly out of nowhere; she motioned for Hotaru to be seated and Hotaru did as was instructed.

"Alright! First question…how old are you?" Kairi asked as she stood in front of Hotaru's seat.

"Thirteen."

Selphie grinned, "Me too! But you already knew that. Okay, next question…how happy are you?"

"huh?" Hotaru blinked, she hadn't been expecting _that_.

"From one to five, five being highest and one being lowest." Kairi explained.

Hotaru stayed silent as she mulled over the choices. _Five would be a lie…four isn't exactly the truth…maybe a three? No…I miss Haruka-papa, and Michiru-mama too much for it to be anything more then a two…maybe anything higher then a one would be a lie…_ "One and a half." Hotaru answered after the long silence.

Selphie and Kairi both stared at her, their faces showing something close to pity…or maybe trying to comfort her.

"A one…?" Selphie asked confused, "here, look straight into my eyes."

Hotaru raised an eyebrow in question and Kairi quickly explained, "Selphie thinks she can see into people's souls." So, Hotaru deciding to play along, looked into Selphie's eyes.

Selphie stayed silent for a while, her face a mask of concentration. What she saw was enough to want _her_ break down and cry, and anyone who knew Selphie more than five minutes would know Selphie _never_ cried. Selphie saw so much pain, and sorrow and so many buried emotions not allowed to be shown. And then there was something …more mysterious, darker.

Selphie blinked and nodded, "Alright…a one and a half it is…"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while, the two islanders not quite sure how to act.

Hotaru, deciding to lighten the mood a bit, smiled slightly, "Only two questions?"

Selphie shook her head rapidly, "no, no, no, no, no! No way! There's _way_ more questions! Favorite color?"

"Purple."

"Nickname?" Kairi asked.

Hotaru thought for a moment whether to say Saturn or Firefly…or Messiah of Silence, Warrior of Ruin, etc. "Firefly."

"Ummm…which of the boys do you like best?" Selphie asked with a grin.

Hotaru stared at Selphie, "Wha…?"

"Selphie's a bit of the island romanticist." Kairi explained.

Hotaru sweatdropped, "Well, I don't really know them."

"Fair enough…" Selphie said with a pout.

"Do you know what a paopu fruit is?" Kairi and Selphie asked in unison.

"…um. A type of food?" Hotaru guessed.

Kairi snickered and Selphie grinned and said, "That's obvious silly! But do you know what it does?"

Hotaru thought about saying '…gives you something to eat…' but decided it would only make her seem dim-witted so she settled for a brief shake of the head.

"Selphie, do the honors." Kairi said, knowing that her friend _loved_ to tell the story of the paopu fruit.

"Alrighty. Here goes! The paopu fruit is a legendary star-shaped fruit that grows only on this island, and only in a really high place on a smaller island connected to this island by the bridge; which you can get to be going up those stairs," she paused to point out the stairs which were easily viewable then continued, "Legend says that if two people share the paopu fruit together, then their fates will be intertwined for all eternity." Selphie sighed over-dramatically and then said wistfully, "Isn't it romantic?"

Hotaru sweatdropped not quite believing such a farfetched tale, but…it seemed plausible. She never knew this place existed until not even an hour ago, so…maybe more things were possible. "Well…who do you want to share the paopu fruit with?"

Kairi looked at Selphie raising her eyebrows up and down, "Yeah Selphie. Who _do_ you want to share the paopu fruit with…?"

Selphie blushed and waved her hands around wildly, "N-No one from this island!"

Kairi giggled and Hotaru smiled slightly.

"Now…" Selphie cleared her throat, "is where we make you officially part of our island."

Kairi nodded suddenly becoming serious, "Hold out your right hand."

Hotaru became more and more confused. _EXACTLY WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS!?_ is what her mind was screaming but she held out her hand nonetheless.

Kairi and Selphie both held out their right hands and placed them on top of hers then without warning Kairi gave the back of her hand a sharp pinch and Selphie pinched Kairi's hand; then Kairi brought her left hand and put it on top of Selphie's right hand, Selphie put her left over Kairi's left and Hotaru put hers on top.

"Now, pinch Selphie's hand." Kairi said.

Hotaru blinked, _This has got to be the stupidest thing I've ever done…_ nonetheless she complied and pinched Selphie's left hand, Selphie pinched Kairi's, Kairi pinched Selphie's right hand, Selphie pinched Kairi's right hand, and Kairi ended by pinching Hotaru's right hand at the bottom.

((The formation of hands (I know it's confusing) looked something like this:  
Hotaru - left  
Selphie - left  
Kairi - left  
Selphie - right  
Kairi - right  
Hotaru - right))

Hotaru, still in confusion over what they had done reacted late, "…itai! (ow!)" She shook her hands around a few times after everyone pulled theirs away as well, "What _did_ you do that for?"

Kairi grinned, "Well…honestly that was pointless…Selphie just did that when I came here and we made a pact that we would do that to every newcomer on the island to see what they're reaction would be."

Selphie nodded fervently then added, "The boys have their own little way of welcoming someone. But it's pretty stupid! All they do is ask pointless questions like 'What scares you most…' or other stuff like that."

Hotaru shook her head missing home even more. How different these people's customs were!! "So…what do I do now?" This question was aimed more at herself then at the other two but they seemed to reply anyway.

"The kids of the island spar a lot," Kairi started and Selphie interrupted,

"As you've probably seen we all have weapons! I have nunchakus!" she said bringing out the jump rope-like object. "Kairi doesn't spar, but she's fairly new so we haven't made a weapon for her yet! Wakka has a beach ball which he calls a 'blitzball'; Tidus, Riku, and Sora all have wooden swords."

"So…do you have a weapon of choice?" Kairi asked looking at Hotaru curiously.

Hotaru fidgeted for a while trying to decided whether or not to make her glaive known. From what she'd seen of all the islanders their weapon couldn't do any _real_ damage to an opponent because they were; for the most part, made of wood; and hers was made of some material found on Saturn a thousand or so years ago. "Actually, I brought a weapon along with me."

Kairi and Selphie both looked at her curiously.

_Alright…that was a _bad _idea…_ Hotaru thought as she watched the two girls who were watching her intently. She had forgotten she had to be in her senshi form to be able to summon the silence glaive.

But thankfully for our female protagonist inspiration hit her as she remembered her previous lie about being in a shipwreck. She feigned watering eyes as she sniffled, "…but it was lost in the sh-shipwreck…"

Selphie gave her a bear hug, "Don't worry!" she said as she backed away again and began hopping excitedly on one foot, "we're here now! You can count on us!"

Kairi nodded and gave Hotaru a brief hug as well, "I guess you and I will just work on our weapons together!"

Hotaru could swear her heart was going to break with homesickness. Just being around Selphie and Kairi made her long to be around Chibiusa once more. Chibiusa, Usagi, Rei, Ami, Makoto, Minako, Mamoru, Luna, Artemis, Diana, Setsuna-mama…Haruka-papa, Michiru-mama she wanted to see them all so badly. Heck she would even settle for speaking to them. It hadn't even been two hours and already she was about to break down and try to go running home.

She had changed, that much was certain. She steeled herself and forced a cheery smile, "Thanks…it means a lot to me."

"I guess now we should find you a place to stay…we only have a few huts at the moment so you're going to have to share with someone. Sora lives with his mom and dad; Riku, Tidus, and Wakka live in this fairly big hut with two rooms and bunk beds, and Selphie and I live in a hut." Kairi explained as the three girls walked out of the shack.

"So, the only place you'll find an extra place is with the boys; if you don't mind, but if you're afraid of cooties or something then we can always get you a blanket and you could sleep on the floor…" Selphie said thoughtfully.

Hotaru shrugged, "I'll just sleep in the boys room. I'd rather get a bad case of cooties and be able to sleep in bed then be on the floor."

Kairi and Selphie smiled, "Then we should go tell the boys of the arrangement! I'm sure they won't mind at all!" Kairi said with a positive smile.

Selphie paused, "Well…they might mind…but don't you worry! If they try to put up a fight I'll fight all of 'em off!" she then brought out her 'nunchakus' and began to attack an invisible enemy.

Hotaru sweatdropped, "That's comforting."

Selphie giggled and Kairi grinned.

"Hey Tidus!!" Selphie called waving to Wakka and Tidus who were busy sparring. Tidus turned around to see who was calling him; Wakka saw this as his chance and was quick in using his 'special' attack. This attack hit Tidus head on and Selphie winced, as Tidus admitted defeat. "Sorry!" she called.

Tidus rubbed his head, "eh. Well…what'dya call me for?"

Kairi pushed Hotaru forward, "Hotaru's gonna room with you guys until the villagers have time to build another hut for her, or until we build another bed so she, Selphie, and I can share a hut together."

"Huh?" Tidus and Wakka asked in unison.

"You heard." Selphie said as she puffed out her cheeks and glared at them.

"But Selphie…" Tidus whined but soon shut up as both Kairi and Selphie began glaring at him.

"oh come on. She's a girl, ya. It's the guys hut, if she comes it can't be called the guy's hut anymore, ya!" Wakka said with a frown.

"What's happening?" a curious voice asked and the group turned to see Sora and Riku approaching, both soaking wet.

"Fell into the water _again_?" Kairi asked giggling.

Sora grinned and Riku smirked slightly and shook his head releasing the water over most of the people standing close.

"Riku!" Selphie whined as her hair became a bit limp and lost some of its flipped-ness. 

He smirked, "So, what's going on?" he repeated Sora's question as he ran his fingers through his hair and amazingly it fell into perfect place.

"Well we're trying to find somewhere where Hotaru can stay, and _your_ hut is the only one with an extra bed since you have two bunk beds, so we figured she could stay with you three." Kairi explained.

"But these two are being meanies!" Selphie said with a childish pout.

Riku seemed to consider the prospect before shrugging, "I don't see why not." He smiled at Hotaru and she smiled back by instinct; then out of the blue he got her in a headlock, "You're part of the island now, kid." He proceeded in giving her a noogie ((I think that's what they're called…)) though she could tell he purposely did it softly whether because he didn't want to mess up her hair, or because he thought it'd hurt. He let her go and put his hands behind his head in a nonchalant manner.

Tidus hit Selphie over the head after a brief moment of silence which made her emit a cute little, 'hey!' she got her nunchakus out and Wakka wasted no time in joining them.

Sora, Kairi, Riku, and Hotaru wandered away from them.

"We're building a raft." Sora said as the four walked on, "we're planning on leaving the island."

Riku shot the younger boy a look that said, 'Why'd you tell her that!?'

Hotaru nodded slightly not quite sure what they thought she would say.

"You can come with us, if you'll help us gather rations…and materials we need." Kairi said as the four continued walking along the beach going under the bridge.

"Riku's already got his rations for today, so you and Sora need to get some. That is if you choose to go."

Hotaru shivered even though there was no breeze and it was a warm, sunny day, "…Sure…I'll go." Maybe this was the journey Setsuna was talking about?

"Great! So this is what you'll need to get before sunset: 2 mushrooms, 3 coconuts, 2 logs to make the raft have more room, and 4 fish…we're planning on leaving tomorrow." Kairi explained with a rather large grin plastered on her features.

Hotaru nodded slightly and the four parted, Sora bounding off happily to get items, Kairi heading towards the raft to wait for everyone to finish gathering materials, and Riku looking a bit…disappointed? Hotaru shrugged thinking it would be a bit more helpful if Kairi had actually said where these items could be found. However most were obvious…fish in the sea, coconuts in trees, mushrooms loved shade, and logs she had seen when she first glimpsed the island.

In less than an hour or two Hotaru had completed her task and Sora was almost finished with his leaving Riku and Hotaru the only ones off duty.

Hotaru looked down upon her soaking clothes; thoroughly see-through since her fishing attempts. She pulled her shirt away from her body suppressing a giggle as it made the sound Velcro makes when you take two pieces; stick them together and then take them apart again.

She sighed and decided she wanted to go to the miniature island where she had seen Riku and Sora sparring earlier. She knew she should be searching for her communicator but currently she was curious about this island she was on. So she made her way to the island shack and followed the stairs Kairi and Selphie had told her about earlier. And sure enough once the sunlight hit her again she was directly in front of the bridge. She crossed it, all the while looking below at the manila colored sand below with the faintest depressions on the smooth surface a proof that the island's occupants had stepped upon it many a time.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she was quite surprised when the hardwood of the bridge turned into soft ground beneath her feet. She lifted her gaze and found that she was indeed on the small island; it wasn't much though it looked like a good place to just sit down and think. The island was surrounded by the most cerulean waters she'd seen, for some reason the blue of the ocean seemed more …intense at that altitude. There was a tree of to the side, and upon it were golden star-shaped fruits, and by the looks of it they seemed to be the 'paopu fruit of legend' that Selphie had told her about earlier.

Then she noticed that she wasn't alone on the small isle, Riku looked to be seated comfortably on the curving tree nibbling at a paopu fruit.

"How did you really get here?" he asked suddenly not even lifting his gaze to hers.

She dug a hole in the ground with her foot as she avoided answering as long as she could, "…My ship…capsized-"

He lifted his head and stared at her with a burning gaze that seemed to look through her to her very soul. "…Is that the truth?"

Hotaru paused in her hole digging to glance up at him, "I-…um." she looked at him, eye-to-eye and nodded. He didn't need to know the truth, truth. "Yes. It's the truth…ehehe… why would I lie?"

He watched her for a few more seconds before shrugged, "Whatever." He then looked at her, his mood completely changed, as he now seemed to be in a playful- yet still arrogant- mood. "Do you spar?"

Hotaru smiled mischievously up at him and nodded, "Although I lost my weapon on the ride over here…"

He jumped from his place standing atop the tree's base and landed a few feet in front of Hotaru, "Here, use this then," he tossed her a wooden sword that looked identical to his own which he held in his hand, "That is…unless you're afraid I'll beat you?"

"Who? Me afraid? You're the one who should be afraid, buddy."

"Sure, I'm very afraid of a little _girl_…" he said mocking fear then he added, "I'm shaking."

She giggled seeing as he seemed to enjoy using sarcasm, "Don't worry, little ol' me won't be too hard on you."

"I should hope not." He said before lunging at her his sword poised above him.

He swung downwards aiming somewhere around her shoulder which she easily blocked. They stayed in that position for a while both pushing their weapons hard against the others so that the weapons were grinding against each other, and if they were steel instead of wood Hotaru was almost certain that sparks would be flying.

Without warning her took away his pressure against her weapon and jumped to the side causing Hotaru to fall forward after the loss of balance between the friction of the two swords. Sensing what her opponent was about to do she flipped backwards at the exact time that he swung so he narrowly missed hitting her arm.

He laughed, which sounded more like a slight exhale of breath then he looked up, "You're pretty good, but don't worry I'm just getting warmed up."

"One should hope." Hotaru replied before parrying his next blow. Their swords met once again and they slowly increased the friction between the two 'blades'. Hotaru stepped back as he added more force; however, she misjudged her distance from the edge and ended up losing her stability as her left foot hit air instead of the ground she was used to. Almost immediately she could tell Riku had stopped applying strength to the weapon and he reached for her. Hotaru flailed her arms a few times before falling backwards into the water.

She popped her head out of the surface in a few seconds time looking up at Riku as she treaded water.

"I win!" he yelled down to her as he pulled back his outstretched hand.

"You got lucky!" Hotaru yelled back then thought about how she was acting. She was acting _playful_. And because of that she felt suddenly guilty. Haruka and Michiru were gone and she was all but flirting with a boy she had only known for less than a day! She shifted her gaze downward as she began swimming to a ladder that was placed conveniently a few feet in front of her.

She began her descent upwards and then climbed onto the mini-island's surface.

"Rematch?" Riku asked as soon as she made it back up.

Hotaru shook her head, "No, thanks." She grabbed her hair and began wringing the water out of it followed by her shirt.

Riku tossed something at her head; which she caught by instinct. It was a half-eaten paopu fruit.

Hotaru raised an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"I'm not hungry anymore, and it's bad to waste things, especially on this island where this fruit grows only once a year."

"Is that so?" Hotaru asked not completely uninterested. She stared at the ripe fruit for a while and it seemed to stare innocently back at her with big pleading eyes yelling 'eat me! Eat me!' and because she was curious about the legend, and how it tasted, she cautiously rose the fruit up to her mouth and took a bite of it.

Her close mouth turned into a smile in a matter of seconds when she tasted the fruit. It wasn't exactly sweet yet not sour either. It was tangy and tasted a bit like an orange…or was it a pineapple? She didn't care, it was one of the few best things she'd ever eaten.

She took another bite unreservedly enjoying herself. She heard Riku's faint laugh and turned her gaze to him.

He smirked, "By the looks of it I'd say you like it."

Hotaru nodded. _I should really take some of these back for all the senshi! Usagi and Chibiusa would die for something that tastes so wonderful…_ her smile faded slightly as she remembered the senshi. _Why can't I just be back at home right now? With Haruka watching terebi (tv), Michiru cooking, and Setsuna constantly changing the channel to the Twilight Zone and Haruka fighting over the controller ending up in a game of Paper, Scissors, Rock (that Setsuna almost always won thanks to her ability to see into the future…)_ Hotaru heaved a sigh as she finished eating the paopu fruit.

She forced a smile at Riku, "Well, shouldn't you have shown me where I'll be sleeping by now?"

He smirked, "Follow me." Was all he said before walking to the edge that over looked the sandy shore below them, he jumped and began walking towards the main part of the village. Hotaru jumped after him and followed him throughout the small pathways and finally climbed up a ladder and followed the swerving wooden path to the boy's hut. She looked inside at the undecorated room consisting of two bunk beds, a rug, a table with three chairs, a bathroom complete with a toilet, shower/bath, and sink.

Hotaru began walking to the center of the room, Riku seated himself comfortably in one of the chairs that were placed around the table, "Wakka and Tidus sleep in that bunk." He said pointing to the bunk on the right. So you'll be in that bunk with me," he said pointing to the one on the left.

Hotaru nodded and began climbing the ladder that led to the top bunk.

Riku cleared his throat, "I get top bunk."

Hotaru pouted slightly as she jumped from the ladder and fell onto the bed on bottom. She became only slightly aware of Riku's presence and the redish-orange glow coming from the window as the sun set. The bed was so comforting after a long hectic day that seemed like a never-ending nightmare. She tried to convince herself to wake up but her body wasn't complying with her wishes. She took a deep breath before she fell to the will of sleep.

_Just a bad…dream…_

~*~*~End Chapter Three~*~*~

Vale: Yeah, I know that was pretty long and slightly pointless but I'm just trying to get to the main part of the story. Don't worry it'll get better. Thanks for all your reviews! So here's my lil' shout-out list!

**Myst Lady ML-chan**, _Tenshi_, _Tenshi_ (double clicked Tenshi? ^_^ makes it seem like I have more reviews though…hehe), **In the Light of the Moon**, **ShadowHawk**, **kapies**, _Dark Shaedow_

Vale: So n_n thankies! ^_~ Yeah this chapter was pretty bad, and I hate the slight OOCness! I HATE IT! *long sigh* I'm just trying to get to the next chapter (which was originally to be part of this chapter but it was getting LONG so…yeah)

Arnvid: R/R before Vale begins rambling even more and about her going on about not getting enough reviews, etc. 


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Kingdom Hearts! There, I said it…again.

Vale: n_n Big thanks to all who reviewed!!! Well, Since only one person paid attention to my little poll of Sora/Kairi I'll only put a lil' bit of it in *sigh*

Arnvid: See? Now Vale will sink into depression and become so fat that she won't fit in her room.

Vale: *eating French fries and sobbing*

Arnvid: See?

Vale: Hm? *sniffles then glares at fries accusingly* NO! I refuse to let Arnvid be proven right!! *goes to aerobics class*

Arnvid: …^^;

Ages:

Hotaru: 13  
Sora: 14  
Riku: 15  
Selphie: 13  
Wakka: 15  
Tidus: 13  
Leon: 25  
Yuffie: 16  
Cid: 42  
Cloud: 22  
Kairi: 14

**Hotaru Goes to Destiny Islands  
Chapter Four  
By:  
** Vale _(Saturn Angels)_

~*Last Time*~

"I get top bunk."

Hotaru pouted slightly as she jumped from the ladder and fell onto the bed on bottom. She became only slightly aware of Riku's presence and the redish-orange glow coming from the window as the sun set. The bed was so comforting after a long hectic day that seemed like a never-ending nightmare. She tried to convince herself to wake up but her body wasn't complying with her wishes. She took a deep breath before she fell to the will of sleep.

_Just a bad…dream…_

~*This Time*~

It wasn't until hours later that Hotaru woke up though she felt like it had only been a few minutes since she had closed her eyes. She looked out the small window and saw that the night was dark. She noticed that that the moon wasn't out night making what shadows there were seem more ominous. She was about to go back to sleep when she remembered her lost communicator. After some consideration she slid out of bed careful not to wake anyone.

She decided it was a bit too risky to climb out of the window so she instead tiptoed to the door of the hut and once outside safely she walked down the steps. It was a calm night, with a warm breeze but underlying it all Hotaru could sense something boding evil. Suddenly feeling that the warm, welcoming breeze had turned harsh and distant she pulled her cardigan closer to her frail body but continued walking until she felt the soft sand beneath her boots. "This should be around wear I left it…" she mumbled to herself trying not to wet her feet in the tide.

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" she said incoherently speaking to herself as her eyes continued to dart along the sandy surface. "I seriously hope it didn't get washed into the ocean." Hotaru paused in her search to look out at the horizon, she noticed that storm clouds were beginning to approach the island, "Oh great." Hotaru watched the clouds move steadily closer then she deepened her voice to sound like a news-reporter, "Hotaru reaches the island and suddenly a storm approaches like one the island has never seen before. Watch as Hotaru is the only survivor and is left alone, as always."

It always seemed to work out that way, kill off Hotaru's new friends and kill off a little bit of Hotaru, she'd just be a lifeless shell unwilling to live anymore if this continued to happen. A long time passed like that: Hotaru staring out at the storm clouds deep in thought as they approached seemingly gaining speed.

Then she sighed and was about to give up her search for her communicator all together when a muffled beeping sound met her ears. "Perfect timing!" Hotaru exclaimed, a bit louder then she had intended to but she didn't care. She dropped to her knees listening more closely to the noise, "Left…left…left…forward," she paused where she heard the noise loudest and began digging, in less then five seconds she had uncovered it and by instinct she flipped the top up so she could see and hear the person communicating with her. The link was fuzzy so she couldn't see the person's image.

???: Go to the docks.

"The docks?" Hotaru asked confused, "Setsuna, is that you?"

Pfffffffffft. Crackle. Silence.

"Setsuna?" Hotaru asked again even though she knew that the connection had been lost. She only had the option of trusting the person, so that's what she did. She stood and brushed as much sand as she could from her pants and fixed her communicator so it was around her wrist like a normal watch would be, she began running towards the pier all the while trying to keep her hair from flying into her face.

She made it to the docks just as the wind seriously began to pick up she looked up for any sign of what to do next and what, or rather who, she saw wasn't quite who she expected. "Riku?" her question was lost in the fierce winds and she had to repeat it much louder to get even the slightest reaction.

At first she wasn't sure if he had heard her until he turned to look at her questioningly, he asked her something but she couldn't understand what he said.

He continued looking at her puzzled yet nonchalant and he raised his voice so his next question could be heard, "What are you doing here…?"

Hotaru paused she couldn't really say, 'looking for my magical item that allows me to communicate with people from another universe' that would sound too…strange. "I was looking for some fresh air." She tried to push back the hair from her face, "This is a bit much! Eheh…ehe…"

He furrowed his brow at her, allowing only the small twitch of his lips to show that he had recognized what she said as a joke. He pushed back some of his own silvery-blue hair out of his face, "You should go inside. You are not a part of this."

"I'm more a part of it then you are." Hotaru replied out of instinct, she hadn't really meant to say anything like that. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something but of course that was when he just had to break the eye contact and look down at the ground in surprise. So of course again by instinct Hotaru followed his gaze and her eyes widened when she saw that every inch of the ground was covered in shadow; like a thick blanket. It was no regular shadow just sort of a vast darkness that seemed to be trying to drag everything down with it.

So of course Hotaru wasn't completely surprised that she began feeling a gentle tugging at her feet. But she didn't exactly want to live the rest of her natural borne life in such a immeasurable emptiness so she did what any normal person would do.

She let out the breath she had been holding in a short yelp as she tried to stumble forward to grasp something to help her out of the void.

But the more she struggled the faster she seemed to sink in, like quick sand. To say she was a bit frightened would be an understatement. Just because she represented death didn't mean she felt no fear.

Before her head was completely submerged she felt someone grab her hand.

_Riku!_ Hotaru thought thankful that someone was there to save her.

"Hotaru!" Riku called as he tried to pull her upwards, but the harder he pulled the heavier she seemed to become.

Hotaru tried to turn her face upwards fighting with the dense liquid she tried to take in as much air as she could, "Hel-" she tried to finish the word but before she had the chance to Riku's grip on her hand lessened before being gone completely.

And she was tossed into darkness.

Riku stood looking at the ground which was still covered with the strange substance more confused then he'd ever been. He had been called outside and when he arrived Hotaru was there looking confused, and now she had vanished. And he was still there.

He looked down at his own feet to see them standing on firm ground, why didn't he sink through like Hotaru had done?

The wind and noise died down to a low hum and time seemed to pause as a cloaked figure walked towards him.

From what Riku could see the hooded-figure was male and was shaking his head as if amused, "This world has been connected."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Riku asked watching the strange person cautiously, "Who are you?"

"You understand so little. One who knows nothing can understand nothing. The door has opened. Opened so this world will be eclipsed by darkness and you will be able to go to those precious worlds of which you seek."

Riku continued to stare at the man dumbfounded, "What's going on?"

More was said between the two that should remain between them as it was meant to be, however Riku came to what he thought was understanding and his question was answered then the man disappeared and once again the noise became deafening.

Suddenly Sora was running to him looking relieved yet still worried, "Where's Kairi? I thought she was with you!"

"The door has opened." Riku replied almost casual in his tone.

"What?" Sora asked blinking as he stopped a few feet in front of Riku.

"The door has opened! Now we can go to the outside world!"

"What are you saying? We have to find Kairi!"

"Kairi's coming with us!" Riku explained looking excited at his knowledge, "Once we step through, we might not be able to come back. We may never see our parents again. There's no turning back. But this may be our only chance. We can't let fear stop us! I'm not afraid of the darkness!"

"Riku!" Sora called to his friend confused by all that was happening, and especially confused with the strange things Riku was talking about.

Suddenly a dark shadow engulfed the two, Riku standing as if he was unaffected by it. He reached out his hand for Sora to join him but Sora couldn't reach Riku's outstretched hand. And when Sora resurfaced out of the deep shadows he looked around him and realized Riku was nowhere in sight. Riku had disappeared.

-Scene Change: Hotaru - Traverse Town-

_Headache…_ was the only thought that passed through Hotaru's mind as she brought her hand up to her forehead applying slight pressure to try and lessen the pounding. She noticed that she wasn't in either a bed or on a beach but instead on a hard floor. Like tiles.

_Though tiles are much smoother…_ she noted before blearily opening her eyes slowly. She had to shut them quickly as a bright light invaded her vision, "Itai…(ouch)…" she mumbled before slowly sitting up an opening her eyes slower this time looking at the floor.

Once her eyes had adjusted she looked around at her surroundings. She seemed to be in some sort of town. She thought she was back on earth once more but then she saw a small white creature with a strange pom-pom type object on his head. It was currently staring at her, she looked at t he sky to realize it was dark, so she looked around for the source of light then found that she was seated underneath a lamp-post.

She stood slowly, gripping the steel pole of the street light for support. Based on the tiny cat-like creature, which walked upright, she figured she wasn't on earth. So…where was she?

She looked at her wrist to make sure her communicator was still in its proper place. Once she was sure that it was she sighed heavily and decided to try and ask people exactly where she was.

She chose to go to a two-story building with a wooden sign hanging above the door which made it seem that the building was in fact an accessory shop.

"Like some role-playing game…" Hotaru mumbled to herself as she opened the door.

"How can I help you?" the man behind the counter asked, without even looking up at his customer. He had blonde short hair, pilot goggles which rested against his forehead, and basically looked like one of those fighter-pilots you see on television. All in all he looked very out of place behind the counter.

He looked up at Hotaru then frowned, "Damn it, just a @*$#ing kid…"

Hotaru blinked in surprise, "I'm sorry …"

The man studied Hotaru for a moment before sighing, "Alright then, what the hell do you want?"

Hotaru bit her lower lip, "Um, I'm not quite sure exactly where I am."

"Didn't you see the sign? That's what it's there for. It says 'Welcome to $#@*ing Traverse Town'."

Hotaru blinked then looked down in embarrassment, "Does it really say that?"

"Hm? Oh I forget that most kids these days have those 'pure little' mouths, eh? Pure my @$$. Anyway the sign says that, minus the bit of improper language. So, how'd you get here and not know where you were? Veer of course in your airship ((A/N: gummi ship sounds too stupid))?" he chuckled, "No, you're too young to be able to fly an airship."

Hotaru remained silent, "All I wanted to know was where I was, and you told me. Thank you, and I'm sorry for bothering you." Hotaru bowed and turned quickly to exit the store.

"Wait. Before you go- if you run into a girl named Yuffie, don't look away from her for a second. She's a real thief, oh and also if you see either Yuffie or Aerith then tell them Cid says hi."

Hotaru nodded then left the shop walking back outside. The town was huge compared to Destiny Islands yet tiny compared to the crowded city of Tokyo. Which she missed more then anything now.

"Hey!"

_Hm? That voice sounds familiar…_

"Hotaru, you're here too?"

Hotaru pinpointed where the voice was coming from and looked above her, she needn't have because in a few seconds the owner of the voice jumped from the building landing catlike on his feet in front of her before straightening with a relieved look on his face.

"Riku!" Hotaru exclaimed happily looking at the older boy standing in front of her, his hair illuminated slightly by the light that was two to three meters behind him.

He smiled slightly, more of a smirk then a smile as only one side of his lips was upturned, before he put his hands behind his head and looked around them, "Find out where we are?"

"Traverse Town." Hotaru replied as she too averted her gaze from her companion.

"Hmm…so, I…we actually made it to another world.." he paused and turned from Hotaru to look at their surroundings more clearly, "But where are Kairi and Sora? Shouldn't they be here by now?"

"Maybe they're somewhere else?" Hotaru suggested shrugging her shoulders slightly, "Or maybe they'll arrive at a later time?"

Riku turned his attention to Hotaru and nodded, "You're probably right."

"…What do we do now?" Hotaru asked not wanting to delve too much in the silence that continuously threatened to take the two.

"I don't know."

Silence.

Silence.

Hotaru nodded slightly, "Do you have any money?"

"Not much."

"There should be an inn of some sort around here, right?"

Riku blinked, "Well I guess it wouldn't hurt to look for one."

Hotaru nodded a bit and followed him when he turned and began walking in a random direction.

Not long had passed before they found an inn, they both walked inside, Riku first and Hotaru following close behind.

He slowed his pace and looked at the old woman behind the counter ((Note: …I don't think there is anyone behind the counter in the fame but there is now.)) after a while of Hotaru and Riku standing in front of the desk the old woman slowly raised her head to look at the two, "May I help you children?" the old woman asked as she slowly grabbed her glasses and put them on yet she continued to squint at the pair.

"We…need some place to stay. We have no where to go and we've been separated from our parents, this is my little sister, we've been out in the streets wandering around trying to find our parents for days and we're both very hungry. No one else would except us into their home." Riku said as he looked at the ground feigning shame.

The old woman studied the two, "You look nothing like each other."

"She takes after our mother." Riku said as if he had already known the woman was going to ask that question.

"Hmm, what did you say your names were children?"

"Riku."

"Hotaru…" Hotaru replied meekly then bowed slightly.

The woman nodded, "You poor things. What's the world coming to? Not housing little children separated from their parents. Poor, poor things. I'll give you both a place to sleep and I'll send someone to bring food to your rooms, you must be hungry."

"Famished." Riku replied.

"Starving." Hotaru added trying to get extra food.

The old woman nodded, "Well if you both need anything then you just be sure to call for me. My name is Edea."

"We'll be sure to do that, umm…" Riku looked in both directions, "Which one is our room?"

"Oh, I almost forgot, I guess that comes with age," Edea laughed slightly then took a key from the rack behind her that hung on the wall, "Your room is the one with the little leaf insignia on the door. Here's your key, without it you wouldn't be able to open it." the woman chuckled, "I know children your age are usually very rowdy but try not to be too loud, the people in the room next to you are celebrating their honeymoon."

Hotaru sweatdropped and giggled nervously (ehehe…heh…) and Riku sweatdropped yet nodded, "Don't worry we won't… disturb them…"

Edea nodded, "No jumping on the bed's either, I'm letting you have this room for free so please don't break anything. I know you two won't because you seem like such good siblings but I'm just telling you so you know."

Edea was saying this to them in a calm, sweet voice so Hotaru trusted that Edea wasn't angry about letting them have a room for free, Hotaru bowed slightly, "I am sorry for the inconvenience this causes but I am also thankful that you allow us to stay here. Thank you, and I promise my and …my brother will both behave."

Edea didn't notice the pause in Hotaru's speech so she smiled at the young girl, "You remind me so much of my daughter…" she sighed sadly then smiled, "I'll have the food brought to you as soon as it's made. You two go and get settled in your room."

~*~*~End Chapter Four~*~*~

Vale: And the plot thickens... ^_^ Yeah, I added some exact game dialogue so those of you who haven't played the game know what I'm talking about and stuff ^_^ (even though in the game Riku was on the little separate island thingy, oh well!) *sighs in relief* I liked this chapter more then the other one because Hotaru wasn't as OOC and there was a point to this chapter =^_^= so...enough of my babbling, here's the *drum roll* shout-out list!

**invader cel**, **Invader cel** (^_^), **Hotaru Hope Maxwell**, _lilbirdy_, **In the Light of the Moon**, _Adyen_, **Michelle Ann Myst Lady (Myst Lady ML-chan)**, **Silver Author**, **Lady Fireball**, _Kirei-chan_, **kapies**, **Black Aura-Sama**, _Tenshi_, _Jenn_, **Seishi Sairensuno**, **Seishi Sairensuno** (^_^), _(blank)_, _(blank)_, _(blank)_, _(blank)_, _(blank)_

Vale: Most blank spaces in a row ^_^ heehee.

Arnvid: haha, yeah...that is quite a bit.

Vale: But it's cool, because there's copy and paste! teehee

Arnvid: Even though you were too stupid to use it...

Vale: ...shut up.

Arnvid: ^_^

Vale: **Note:** As you can see I have Cid's personality as it was in Final Fantasy VII not in Kingdom Hearts…cuz… *shudders* I don't like how they changed him. ^_^

**Other Note**: I probably won't bring in any of the other senshi. Only Pluto and that'll be on rare occasions and then the other rare occasions that she'll communicate with some of the other senshi, but no other senshi are going to go to that world with the way I planned it. Sorry but I won't change my mind ^_^

Arnvid: Well now that we've lost 50% of our readers...

Vale: ...wah! Don't say mean things like that!

Arnvid: R/R ^^; 


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, or Kingdom Hearts! There, I said it…again.

Vale: n_n Big thanks to all who reviewed!!! Well, Since only one person paid attention to my little poll of Sora/Kairi I'll only put a lil' bit of it in *sigh*

Arnvid: See? Now Vale will sink into depression and become so fat that she won't fit in her room.

Vale: *eating French fries and sobbing*

Arnvid: See?

Vale: Hm? *sniffles then glares at fries accusingly* NO! I refuse to let Arnvid be proven right!! *goes to aerobics class*

Arnvid: …^^; and I may as well apologize for taking…however many months to update. *bows and begs for forgiveness*

Ages:

Hotaru: 13  
Sora: 14  
Riku: 15  
Selphie: 13  
Wakka: 15  
Tidus: 13  
Leon: 25  
Yuffie: 16  
Aerith: 22  
Cid: 32 (Notice I changed his age ^^; sorta looked at the little Final Fantasy VII booklet, lol)  
Sephiroth: 27  
Cloud: 21  
Kairi: 14

**Hotaru Goes to Destiny Islands  
Chapter Five  
By:  
** Vale _(Saturn Angels)_

~*Last Time*~

Hotaru bowed slightly, "I am sorry for the inconvenience this causes but I am also thankful that you allow us to stay here. Thank you, and I promise my and …my brother will both behave."

Edea didn't notice the pause in Hotaru's speech so she smiled at the young girl, "You remind me so much of my daughter…" she sighed sadly then smiled, "I'll have the food brought to you as soon as it's made. You two go and get settled in your room."

~*This Time*~

And that's exactly what they were doing, settling.

Hotaru was seated comfortably on one of the beds with her eyes closed listening to her CD player that currently was playing the Tenkuu no Escaflowne movie soundtrack. She had her favorite song playing softly on repeat; the song was called 'Sora' it was performed by Shanti Snyder. In her point of view Yoko Kanno and Gabriela Robin were geniuses. She always sang along with the song, even though she had almost no clue what she was saying, she took a deep breath before singing along with her favorite part, "Lalalalalalalalala… lalalalalaa. Fontina Blu Cent…Des cravi esca letisimo. Lalalalalalalalala… lalalalalalaa. De quantian, La finde reve…" then she remembered she wasn't alone in the room and opened her eyes slightly to look at Riku who was watching her with a raised eyebrow and curious gaze.

"What…are you doing?" Riku asked confused.

Hotaru blushed, "Singing to a song that I like…"

He blinked then furrowed his brow in confusion, "Singing _along_? How…can you sing along with that thing? Does…it sing?"

Hotaru's held her hand up to her mouth trying to muffle her giggles, she'd never thought of the possibility that he didn't know what a CD player was, "No, it's a CD player, it plays CDs…umm, how do I explain? CDs…are small discs that have songs on them, so when you use a CD player you can listen to the songs…um, well here I'll show you."

Riku watched her questioningly as she got up taking off the weird things that she put on her ears. She walked over to his bed then handed the 'CD player' and ear-things to him. He stared at them then looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "I don't hear anything."

Hotaru smiled slightly, "Well that's because you don't have the headphones on." She said pointing to the weird black things that she'd had on her ears.

He continued to stare blankly at her, "Headphones?" he asked.

Hotaru's smile widened slightly and she giggled a little before shaking her head in mild amusement. She grabbed the headphones and placed them onto Riku's head, he was about to take them off not sure if he liked the feel of something soft against his ears or hated it. Then he heard it. Music! He could hear music coming from the little strange device.

Hotaru snickered at Riku's shocked expression, "Like it?" she asked.

Riku saw Hotaru's lips move but he couldn't quite hear what she said so he reluctantly took the earphones off, "What?"

"I asked if you liked it."

Finding no other reply Riku nodded, "How does it work though? Is it…magic of some sort?"

Hotaru smiled then shook her head, "I guess you could say that. But it really isn't that difficult to make music and put it onto a CD…where I come from many people make their own CDs…"

Riku looked genuinely interested but she decided she didn't want to speak so much about her hometown due to homesickness, "I have more CDs that you can listen to." Hotaru said changing the subject.

Riku smirked and nodded, "I'd like to hear more of your…CD's… they're interesting."

Hotaru nodded, "I have a bunch of different ones from different cultures," she jumped off Riku's bed and walked over to hers grabbing her unlimited spaced CD pocket then she walked back to Riku's bed and sat down on the edge. "Alright, umm what kind do you like?"

"What kinds are there?"

"Um, well I have some weird chanting stuff, pop, rock, hard rock, metal, heavy metal, some soundtracks, soft songs, jazz, blues, instrumental…"

He stared at her not really understanding what any of those were, he guessed at a few like instrumental, and blues. "Just…anything."

Hotaru nodded then looked through her CDs finally choosing one, "Here, it's an Iron Maiden one, the CD is called 'Brave New World' it's hard rock." She pressed a button on the CD player which opened it and she took out one circular disc and replaced it with the one that Riku assumed was 'The World Needs a Hero'.

The song started out without words, just a strange strumming sound on an instrument Riku had never heard before but right away he liked the sound of it. He didn't know why but he liked it. When the song finally did begin he wasn't very surprised to find the singer was male. It wasn't as melancholic and melodious as the first song he had heard was but he still liked the CD better then the first he had heard, maybe because the first he had heard was a hymn type song?

(* * = lyrics to song)

*Hand of fate is moving and the finger  
points to you.  
He knocks you to your feet and so what  
are you gonna do?  
You're tongue has frozen now you've got  
something to say.  
The piper at the gates of dawn is calling  
you his way.

You watch the world exploding every  
single night  
Dancing in the sun, a newborn in the light  
Say goodbye to gravity, and say goodbye to death  
Hello to eternity and live for every breath.

Your time will come,  
Your time will come.

Hotaru giggled at Riku, who currently was drumming his fingers along with the beat of the song and moving his head slightly. It was funny how it seemed to be instinct to do that.

He took the head phones off after hearing about fifteen minutes of the CD and he gave the CD player back to Hotaru.

Hotaru stopped the CD, "Enough?"

He chuckled slightly, "Actually I just figured I should stop listening to it so we could eat."

Hotaru blinked, "But the food hasn't arrived yet."

There was a sharp knock at the door and then a young woman with blonde hair and bright blue eyes came in with a large tray covered with food, "Edea told me to bring you some food, and that you were very hungry so I brought a lot. I hope you like what I made. My name's Quistis Trepe and usually I'm the one behind the counter giving people rooms and Zell is our cook but today Zell was sick so I traded places with him and Edea took over my job. Though I honestly think it should have been Edea who took over cooking, she's a fabulous cook. Much better then me I'm afraid, so would you like me to leave this at the table? Or would you rather me give you some company?"

"We're fine thanks, and yes just leave it on that table."

Quistis nodded at Riku, "Oh…and…I honestly don't like the choice of room that Matron Edea assigned you two to."

Hotaru sweatdropped and Riku shrugged.

"Well, you two don't be mischievous."

"We won't be." Hotaru assured her smiling. Soon after that Quistis left the room closing the door behind her.

"Well, I guess we should try and eat what we've been served." Riku said as he walked to the table and sat down in one of the seats beginning to eat without having the manners to wait for Hotaru.

"How'd you know that Quistis was out there? You couldn't have heard her…"

Riku smirked, "That's a secret."

"Oh come on, you can tell me!"

"I could smell the food." Riku said simply then he shrugged and continued eating.

"Oh." Was Hotaru's response as she made her way to the table and she too sat and began eating the food that was in front of her. She looked at the large pile thinking there was no way that they would be able to finish everything on the tray.

But they did finish it, though Riku ate more then his portion of the food. Afterwards they both sat content with the silence, Hotaru was just about ready to doze off when Riku suddenly seemed to have a very good idea.

"Hey Hotaru…are you up to a little game of Ding-Dong-Ditch?" Riku asked, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Hotaru blinked up at him, she knew very well what Ding Dong Ditching was, in fact Chibiusa had begged her to do it with her quite a few times. She wondered how the game could be known here as well. Perhaps some child from earth had come before her? Hotaru reluctantly shook her head, "Riku, I don't think that's a very good idea. These people took us in without money after all."

Riku rolled his eyes, "Oh come on, just this once. Are you going to be all prim and proper all your life? We're kids, and we're expected to do this sort of thing."

Hotaru bit her lower lip, struggling to come up with a reply. She knew it was wrong to do it, but she always wanted to try. And surely they wouldn't be as harsh here as the people back in Juuban or Tokyo. "Sure, why not?" she asked after a long pause.

Riku nodded approvingly before walking towards the door and motioning for her to follow him.

About a minute later, Hotaru rounded the corner forcing her breathing to be quiet and trying hard not to laugh out loud after seeing an old man's face looking very annoyed at being awoken in such a way. He grumbled and walked back inside, only then did Hotaru begin giggling softly. Riku snickered and he in turn went to their next victim's door.

Hotaru cautiously crept up to the third door, and knocked loudly on it before dashing off to a safe spot where she could still see the person's face clearly without being seen.

A young man, seemingly in his mid twenties or so answered the door, he rose one thin brown eyebrow as he scanned the hallway for any sign of the person who knocked on his door. He had long unruly brown hair, startling blue eyes that seemed full of sorrow or something akin to guilt, and a thin scar; that never would completely heal, that ran from close to his eyebrow and down the side of his face until it stopped at about his cheekbone; that marred his otherwise exceedingly handsome face.

Hotaru blushed slightly at the realization that was he wasn't wearing a shirt. _'Don't look any further then his face.'_ she mentally repeated this phrase over and over willing her eyes not to travel any further.

He looked straight at where she was; crouched hidden well behind a rather large leafy plant, for a moment. His gaze stayed there for a while, looking solemn before he turned, went back inside his room, and closed the door behind him.

"Did you know him?" Riku asked, startling Hotaru from her reverie.

"What? Oh, uh. No…"

He rose an eyebrow, "You were staring at him, did you like what you saw?" he asked slyly.

Hotaru blushed beet red at Riku's comment and stuck her tongue out cutely, "Don't be ridiculous. I was just…er…wondering where he could've gotten that scar."

Riku looked unconvinced but shrugged nonetheless, "Actually, I think I've met the one who gave that scar to him. The man's name was Seifer and had an identical scar, though it started on the other side. He told me that if I ever met the one who gave him his own matching scar, to keep in mind where I saw him just in case our paths crossed again. According to him that man in that room is named Squall Leonhart."

"Squall Leonhart?" Hotaru questioned, tilting her head to the side.

Riku nodded, "Seifer also told me that Squall calls himself Leon now, after the death of his girlfriend or something like that."

"How sad…" Hotaru mumbled.

"Sad? I just think it's pathetic."

Hotaru rolled her eyes, "Well you would. Aren't you even a little sympathetic?" she asked.

He shrugged, "At any rate he seemed to get over his girlfriend's loss pretty quickly. Now he hangs out with two girls, who I heard were very pretty, named Aerith and Yuffie. I wonder why he's here right now instead of being with them? Well, supposedly they each have their own dark pasts as well though I heard that instead of becoming all stoic and gloomy like Leon they hid their depression under a mask of happiness."

Hotaru suddenly became grave at the familiarity that came with those words. How many times had she herself worn such a mask to hide her sadness?

Riku seemed to notice her sudden quietness and he tapped her shoulder and asked her, concern lacing his words, "Hey, Hotaru? Are you feeling alright?"

Hotaru nodded, "Yes, Riku I'm fine." she said standing up, "should we just go back to our room? I'm starting to feel a bit tired."

He nodded as well in response to her question, "Yeah, that'd probably be best. We need to catch up on some sleep if we're going to go and search for Kairi and Sora tomorrow."

Hotaru nodded again, a small smile on her features as she noticed they'd both nodded, she cleared her throat and stood up heading back to their room. "Alright then."

They both made it to the door and Hotaru turned the knob only to find it locked, she rolled her eyes, "Riku, can you unlock the door?"

Riku stared at her looking a bit confused, "What do you mean? I don't have the key."

Hotaru blinked looking confused, "Well, neither do I."

Riku sweatdropped, "Are you sure it's locked?" he asked, without waiting for a response he turned the doorknob only to come to the same result as Hotaru.

Hotaru sighed exasperated, "Well how are we going to get inside then?" she asked.

Riku snapped his fingers, "I have an idea. There are balconies in every room. It shouldn't be that hard to get across to our own."

Hotaru paled at the thought of one of them falling, "Are you sure that's such a good idea Riku? It sounds dangerous…"

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I've seemed to have lost it," she replied before shaking her head, "Plus how are we going to get into any of the other rooms?"

"There's no one staying in the blue room…" he said as he walked towards said door, "the door is kept unlocked. And it's not very far from our room."

Hotaru sighed, it seemed they had no choice.

She followed him into the blue room and out onto the balcony, glad that Riku was right about no one being in that room. "Riku?" she asked as she looked at the distance between each balcony. "Wouldn't it be smarter to just go and get Edea or Quistis to open the door to our room?"

Riku shrugged, "We're already here, Hotaru. We may as well finish what we started." Hotaru covered her eyes as she saw Riku prepare for the jump. She heard him grunt, as he most likely jumped off the balcony's railing, and then a thud followed by a short silence.

Had he…hit the ground below them? She opened one eye to see Riku, rubbing his back looking slightly disgruntled, but he was on the other balcony now nonetheless.

Hotaru made her way to the railing, and looked down below, "Riku…I won't make it."

"I'm right here Hotaru," he said with an encouraging smile as he held his arms out over the other railing, "I'll catch you."

"Why do I doubt that..?" she muttered to herself as she climbed up onto the railing, looking down once more before closing her eyes and going for it. She opened her eyes somewhere during the jump, felt her feet hit the cement that the railing was connected to, and so then flung her arm upwards to grab onto Riku's hand but she barely missed it and ended up grabbing onto the cement that her foot had hit.

"Hotaru!" Riku reached down through the bars of the barrier.

Hotaru let out a shuddering sigh as she looked down at the ground. Her brows furrowed in confusion as she saw something begin to move. Who would be up this late at night…? Her eyes widened as she realized that the thing that was moving was almost like a shadow itself. It seemed almost bug-like…with large glowing iridescent oval-shaped yellow eyes. It looked at Hotaru then, and she made up her mind that they were hostile. More and more appeared out of no where and Riku saw them to.

"Riku what are they!?" she cried fearfully, feeling very vulnerable hanging from the ledge like that.

Riku shook his head, "I don't know, I've never seen anything like that before!" he said, beginning to pull her up.

Hotaru helped Riku, by trying to climb as well and not much longer they had her onto the balcony. Hotaru looked over the railing at the strange creatures, "At least they're down there…"

All of a sudden the shadows seemed to seep through the balcony floor and were on the same level as them. Riku wasted no time in kicking at one, which went back and fell through the railing but they kept appearing one after the other. So in turn Riku grabbed Hotaru bridal-style - one hand beneath her legs and the other behind her back - as he made it to the other railing and jumped to their balcony.

Without looking back to see if they followed he set Hotaru down in front of him and turned the knob to the door, it was open and they both ran inside.

Riku slammed the door shut behind them and Hotaru was shaking. Sure, she had fought youma before…but when she fought them it was always one at a time and there were all the other senshi there. These seemed to appear and multiply all at once without warning, and all she had for protection was Riku. Who seemed to have no supernatural powers.

She sighed heavily and collapsed onto her bed, "You don't think they can come inside…do you Riku?"

Riku looked wary as he watched outside from the window. He shook his head, "I'm not sure Hotaru…I…don't think so though, or else you'd be hearing shouts from all the other rooms…" he paused as he kept watch, "…They seem to have left. But…I'll stay up for a while just to make sure. You go ahead and sleep."

Hotaru nodded slightly and slid underneath the covers, "…Goodnight Riku. Don't do anything reckless…"

She heard a quiet chuckle but got no reply before she slid easily into the comforting hands of sleep.

~*~*~End Chapter Four~*~*~

Vale: Hmmmmmmm…………I brought in the Heartless ^^ and… er… ..I updated! and um…YEAH!

**Silver Author**, **Ahknee/Kitteen**, **Seishi Sairensuno**, _Tenshi_, **In the Light of the Moon**, _gfh_, **Silently Pensive**, **Black Aura-Sama**, _Shinotenshi14_, **uniprincess**, _G.Lo_, _G.Lo_

Vale: Thank you G.Lo for…um…hating me ^^; and getting me to work on this fanfic. Arnvid: So…er…review, yeah? 


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